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States Launch Monsoon 'Stop Diarrhoea' Drives to Give ORS and Zinc to Young Children

The six-week programmes aim to cut monsoon child illness and deaths by using frontline health workers to deliver oral rehydration salts with zinc.

Overview

  • Andhra Pradesh began door-to-door distribution on June 16, targeting 3,753,850 children with two ORS packets and 14 zinc tablets per child and running the campaign through July 31.
  • The Andhra Pradesh health department has stocked 9,537,000 ORS packets and 52,500,000 zinc tablets at government facilities to ensure supplies for the drive.
  • Gurugram and other districts launched parallel six-week campaigns on June 16 that set up ORS‑Zinc corners at government clinics and train ASHAs and ANMs to demonstrate ORS preparation and identify dehydration.
  • Officials say the programmes focus outreach on high-risk groups in urban slums, migrant settlements and construction sites and promote breastfeeding, hand hygiene and safe water to prevent seasonal spikes in diarrhoea.
  • Health authorities cite WHO and NFHS-6 data showing diarrhoea remains a leading cause of under‑five death even as prevalence fell to 4.8% from 7.2%, and they expect the drives to reduce illness, ease pressure on facilities, and strengthen routine child-care practices.